Draft-equalizer.



PATENTBD JAN. 23, 1906.

G. T. NICHOLAS. DRAFT EQUALIZER. APPLICATION FILED JULY 18, 1904.

Jill .26 5

Witnesses I rtomegs I GEORGE T. NICHOLAS, OF BETHANY, MISSOURI.

DRAFT-EQUALIZER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 23, 1906.

Application filed July 18, 1904:. Serial No. 216,980.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE T. NIoHoLAs,a citizen of the United States, residing at Bethany, in the county of Harrison and State of Missouri, have invented a new and useful Evener Attachment to Vehicle Draft-Poles, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the draft-poles of vehicles, and has for its object to provide an attachment whereby the strains upon the doubletree are lessened, the draft equalized, and the swinging movement limited in extent to prevent undue vibration and a positive stop to the same.

With these and other objects in view, which will appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in certain novel features of construction, as hereinafter fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and in which corresponding parts are denoted by like designating characters, is illustrated the preferred form of the embodiment of the invention capable of carrying the same into practical operation, it being understood that the invention is not necessarily limited thereto, as various changes in the shape, proportions, and general assemblage of the parts may be resorted to without departing from the principle of the invention or sacrificing any of its advantages.

In the drawings thus employed, Figure 1 is a plan view of the improved device. "Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1.

The improved device comprises a relatively short evener-beam 10, pivoted at 11 to the tongue 12 in the rear of the doubletree 13, the pivot member 11 being the pivot-bolt, which also secures the keeper 14E of the doubletree, the latter being pivoted, as at 15, to the tongue 12. The keeper 14L engages the top of the doubletree and is secured in position by a bolt 15, mounted in a bearing-clip 15, secured to the doubletree, said clip being provided with an extension 15", which projects beneath the doubletree and bears against a wear-plate 16, secured in any suitable manner to the tongue 12. Attached to the doubletree 13 at points between the central pivot 15 and the pivots 17 18 of the swingletrees 19 20 are other clips 21 22, the latter clips connected by links 23 24E to the free ends of the evener beam 10. The clips 21 22 are spaced apart to a considerably greater extent than the length of the comparatively short evener-beam 10 to cause the link members 23 24 to extend forwardly at reverse angles to the longitudinal plane of the tongue, so that when the draft is applied unevenly to the ends of the doubletree the movement will cause the evener-beam to assume a position in longitudinal alinement with the link on the side at which the strain is applied and check and limit the swinging movement of the doubletree and prevent undue movement to the same. So long, therefore, as the draft-animals are pulling evenly the action will be correspondingly uniform; but any inequality of movement will be instantly checked when the evener-beam swings into position in alinement with the link on the draft side, as will be obvious.

The doubletree pivot-pin 15 will preferably be disposed at the forward side of the doubletree, so that the latter is not weakened by the presence of the pivot-pin.

In practice the evener-beam should not generally be moved more than about one-fourth as long as the distance between the clips 21 22 to secure the best results, and when thus constructed and proportioned a very elficient device is produced, as before described.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is In a device of the class described, the combination with a tongue having a wear-plate secured thereto, of a doubletree pivotally mounted on the tongue and provided with a bearing-clip having an extension projecting beneath said doubletree and bearing against the wear-plate, an equalizing-lever pivoted to the tongue and having arms of equal length extending laterally in opposite directions from said tongue and provided with alined terminal openings, said lever being pivoted to the tongue in the rear of the doubletree and having a fixed center of movement, a keeper the forward end of which engages the top of the doubletree, the opposite end thereof being interposed between the tongue and the equalizing-lever, a bolt mounted in the bearing-clip and engaging the forward end of the keeper, a bolt passing through the rear end of said keeper and equalizing-lever an serving to pivotally support the latter on the keeper, supporting-clips secured to the doubletree on each side of the tongue and spaced from said tongue a distance greater than the length of the equalizing-arms, and reverselyinclined links pivoted in'the terminal 0penings of the equalizing-arms and also pivoted to the supporting-clips whereby when the doubletree is operated the links and lever will be alternately moved into longitudinal alinennent and limit the movement of said doubletreel In testimony that I claim the foregoing as GEORGE T. NICHOLAS.

Witnesses:

A. S. CUM ING, W. O. Rnnvns. 

